Yosemite Falls Painting Art – Sierra Nevada landscape by Karen Winters
Yosemite Falls
(waterfall view from Yosemite Valley Floor)
8 x 10 oil painting on linen panel
See more of my Yosemite paintings here
More Sierra Nevada paintings here
My husband and I have been visiting Yosemite since we honeymooned there (a very long time ago) and it never fails to captivate me, no matter the season or the weather. One of my favorite views is that of Yosemite Falls from the valley floor. The water is roaring more than ever this year, with the melting snow waters. With autumn on the way, it won’t be long before these peaks are snow clad again. We were told that many of the trees are going to be removed from the valley floor because their growth is obscuring the geological features that people come to see. I hope they don’t remove too many, though. The stately pines and deciduous trees add to the overall beauty of the park.
Interested in this painting?
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Eastern Sierra Bishop Cottonwood Oil Painting Art by California landscape painter Karen Winters
Cottonwood Road, early autumn
9 x 12 inches
Bishop, eastern sierra nevada oil painting
SOLD, but I have more Sierra and cottonwood paintings, see link below
More Sierra Nevada paintings here
Interested in this painting?
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September is just around the corner, and soon the cottonwoods of the Owens Valley, in the shadow of the Sierra, will be starting to turn from green to gold. This transitional period provides an interesting color palette as the warm colors overtake the cool leafy shades.
Lone Pine Afternoon – Mt. Whitney Sierra Landscape Oil Painting by Karen Winters
“Lone Pine Afternoon”
(Lone Pine Mountain, Mt. Whitney Portal, Eastern Sierra)
14 x 18 inches oil painting on canvas
As fall approaches, my thoughts turn to the color of the eastern Sierra, one of my favorite places to paint. I’m hoping I’ll get away for more Sierra painting this year, but show commitments might prevent that. We’ll have to play it by ear.
Batiquitos Lagoon, Carlsbad Plein Air Oil Painting – Batiquitos View – by contemporary California impressionist Karen Winters
Batiquitos Lagoon View
9 x 12 plein air oil painting
Carlsbad, California wetlands landscape art
SOLD
Yesterday, my husband and I went to Carlsbad, CA (in San Diego County) where I fell in love with this beautiful eucalyptus guarding the trail to the Batiquitos lagoon. The tide seemed to be fully in at the time of our visit – late afternoon. This is the second time I’ve painted Batiquitos, and I expect it won’t be the last. Anywhere that there are eucalyptus trees and water is a winner with me. I was surprised to see so much green still in the grasses, considering that it is approaching the driest time of the year. But there was a lot of humidity in the air, so maybe that helps.
Here’s a previous Batiquitos painting which was based on a study like the one above.
Batiquitos Path
20 x 24 oil on canvas
SOLD
California impressionist landscape painting – Autumn on the Trail – La Canada Flintridge Art by Karen Winters
“Autumn on the Trail”
Flint Canyon Trail, La Canada Flintridge, California
Near Pasadena’s Arroyo Seco
11 x 14 inches
oil on canvas
See more California trail paintings here
The equestrian and jogging trails that wind through La Canada Flintridge are overhung with sycamore, oak and eucalyptus trees. In the fall the colors meld and fairly glow with the warm light. This stretch of trail is near Berkshire Avenue, and is popular with hikers, joggers and horseback riders alike.
The fun part of painting this, for me, was rendering the different textures of bark, turning leaves, green foliage, etc. Sycamores have a distinctively different look from eucalyptus trees, and their bark reflects light in a different way. In an area like this, the bright light is bouncing off the fallen leaves and reflecting up into the trunks and branches in interesting ways. I decided to restrict this painting to a secondary triadic color scheme (orange, green, violet) which was natural for the time of year.
To learn more about La Canada Trails, visit The La Canada Trails Council website
Laguna Beach Main Beach Sunset Oil Painting – “Laguna Main Beach Sunset” by California Impressionist Karen Winters
Laguna Main Beach Sunset
8 x 10 oil painting
Linen plein air panel
SOLD
Interested in this painting?
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Beautiful days and glorious sunsets … no wonder Laguna Beach is such a romantic and popular tourist destination. If there are any clouds in the sky at all – even a “marine layer” moving in and out, you can count on a spectacular sunset. One of the things that I really enjoy about painting seascape sunsets is that they often have built in complementary pairs – blues and oranges, yellows and violets, warms and cools. When nature provides you with a palette – go with it.
Descanso Gardens Rosarium Wedding Painting – Live event wedding painter
Descanso Gardens Rose Garden (Rosarium) Wedding
16 x 20 oil on canvas
Live event painting
SOLD
See more of my wedding paintings here.
Interested in having me paint at your wedding? Please write
I had the honor of painting this live event at Descanso Gardens for some dear friends who are also collectors of my work. The occasion was the marriage of their daughter to a fine young man. The party was going to be in the evening which presented certain strategic challenges – namely, painting at the time of day that the light was changing the most rapidly. The bride and groom couldn’t be dancing in the dark under the pavilion while the sun was still shining brightly. Nor would it make sense to paint the whole thing in the dark, because then the beautiful garden couldn’t be seen. We decided on a twilight look, and I painted the garden as rapidly as I could right after the ceremony, knowing that I could always paint the sky in later. It was a lovely occasion, and one that I hope they will always remember with romantic notions, whenever they look upon the painting of that day.
Morro Rock Morro Bay Sunset Fishing Boats Oil Painting – “Home for the Day”
“Home For the Day”
Morro Rock, Morro Bay
Fishing Boats painting
9 x 12 oil on plein air panel
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See more of my California Central Coast paintings here
See more of my Morro Bay paintings here
Click this link to write me. See more of my paintings on my website
There’s something about the light on California’s Central Coast that always captivates me. This painting was inspired by a sunset at Morro Rock, in Morro Bay, when the fishing vessels had come home for the day. Or perhaps some of them were preparing to go night fishing? The two boats in the foreground are named “Nyusa” (the closest one) and the one right behind it is named “Michael Too”
Below, how it might look in a dark frame. I think the dark frame really makes the sunset glow even more.
California impressionist oil painting Chapparal Bloom by Karen Winters
“Chapparal Bloom”
San Gabriel Mountains
8 x 10 inches oil on plein air panel
California is colorful all year long, not only in the springtime. Summer and fall wildflowers include buckwheat and other chapparal natives. It’s an earth-tone palette, full of greens, russets, umbers and golds. The buckwheat, when it dries, is a good match for burnt sienna.
I never tire of painting the tapestry of plant life that covers our rolling hills and mountains. The California Native Plant Society is a good resource for learning about our drought tolerant beauties.
Here’s how the painting might look in a dark frame that picks up the colors in the painting, with warm touches of coppery-gold.
I haven’t talked about framing too often here, but it’s true that the frame can have a big impact on how a painting looks. Compare how the same painting, on the same colored background appears in a gold carved frame. The dark frame creates a more rustic look, which might be appropriate for a home with western accents. The gold frame creates a lighter, more elegant appearance. Which do you think works best? Do you like seeing one of my paintings with framing suggestions, as opposed to just seeing the painting by itself?
Sunset On Descanso Pond – Descanso Gardens California impressionist lake oil painting by Karen Winters
“Sunset On Descanso Pond”
Descanso Gardens Art
16 x 20 oil painting
SOLD
I took this new painting “Sunset on Descanso Pond” to the Colony Theatre in Burbank today for a solo show in conjunction with their presentation of “On Golden Pond,” running from July 27 – August 28, starring Hal Linden. There is a cozy gallery area inside the theater with plenty of room for the seventeen paintings I brought. Not all the paintings are of ponds or lakes, of course. There are eastern Sierra scenes, vineyards, seascapes and more.
Sunset on Descanso Pond features the bird sanctuary area, where waterfowl, turtles and other types of wildlife abound. We used to enjoy visiting that spot often when the children were young and feeding or stale bread to the ducks and geese was permitted.
Below is the Central California landscape that I painted expressly for this show as a theme piece.
The title is “Return to Golden Pond” and it is 14 x 18, oil on canvas.
